THE BBC had evidence that veteran broadcaster Stuart Hall had targeted young girls but did not contact police until after he was arrested, it emerged last night.

Former staff detailed a long list of alleged incidents on corporation property in reply to questions from the Dame Janet Smith inquiry sparked by the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Yet the BBC didn’t act until police launched a criminal investigation into father-of-two Hall’s past after his victims finally broke their silence, raising fears he may have been close to getting away with his crimes.

Now a senior MP has backed victims’ calls for a ­separate probe into the latest scandal to rock the corporation as fears grow it could delay or even overwhelm the Smith inquiry.

Labour’s Gerry Sutcliffe, who sits on the culture, media and sport select committee, said a separate inquiry into Hall’s activities was necessary to “clear the air”.

The 83-year-old former It’s A Knockout ­presenter pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to 14 counts of indecent assault between 1968 and 1986. As well as financial ruin, he faces up to a decade behind bars.

The BBC said the latest scandal had “shaken it to the core” but maintained there were no “written records” of “any complaints of a ­sexual nature” against Hall dating back to his time as an employee.

However, the Sunday Express understands that following Savile’s exposure ex-staff were quick to voice their concerns about Hall’s behaviour at the BBC’s Manchester studios in the Seventies and Eighties.

They were among thousands of former employees contacted by the BBC on behalf of Dame Janet, who is investigating the culture of the organisation during those days.

That has heightened speculation that the BBC could face legal action for not preventing abuse on corporation premises.

The BBC sent out letters to 3,400 former staff on November 19, 2012, ­inviting them to contribute to the review.

Many answered before Hall’s arrest two weeks later at his home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, on ­December 5.

The BBC said the latest scandal had "shaken it to the core"

As soon as the BBC was made aware of the allegations of historic abuse that emerged in recent months the corporation offered full assistance to the police

The BBC

Police were only contacted with details of accusations made against Hall days after he was charged and almost a month after he was first arrested.

Now the question is why did the BBC take so long to speak to detectives?

One former studio worker said he had ­witnessed Hall bring a string of young women to the BBC studios in Manchester in the ­Eighties.

He said: “You’d think that after ­everything that went on with Savile they would have been on the front foot but it seems they waited for Hall’s arrest before they thought about getting police involved.

“If that hadn’t happened they might still be sitting on crucial information even now. It was only because those women were brave enough to come forward that anything was done.”

Linda McDougall, a producer at BBC ­Manchester in the late Sixties and Seventies, said Hall was a “complete nuisance” who ­routinely put his hands “all over you and all over anyone female who came in”.

The BBC said: “As soon as the BBC was made aware of the allegations of historic abuse that emerged in recent months the corporation offered full assistance to the police.”

Hall is being sued by at least six women in relation to harm and injuries they suffered. He has transferred ownership of his £2million mansion to his 72-year-old wife Hazel.